What a YEAR!!!

I can't believe its been a year...I am overwhelmed with joy and excitement at how far we have all come. Laura started First Grade today and we celebrate as she has been with us right at a year now. Unbelievable how time flies!!! I feel such joy when I see how much she has changed. She is more friendly, outgoing, willing to try new things, more confident, and all around a happy 7 yr old. I will never be able to explain to her the circumstances of her young childhood, but we just keep reminding her that God brought her to us a gift. I hope one day she will feel the same way. I am so thankful for all our friends and family that have invested in her. I am thankful for ConXion Cheer and the hard work they continue to do by building her trust levels. I am so grateful for our church and the children’s ministry. So many people have contributed their time and efforts in reassuring Laura and building her character. She has seen her brothers several times at the Palmer Home and they have come to our house for a visit. I have to continue to remind myself that God has a plan for them as well. We are praying for that plan and trust Jerm 29:11. We took her to St Louis this summer and had just about the best family trip you can have...City Museum and Six Flags were so much fun. She LOVED the rides and is a good little traveler...thanks to my niece Holly who traveled with us.  We are excited to see what this school year brings...I am hoping this Reach program will be exactly what she needs to continue getting caught up. Gary and I tell her all the time, "just do your best". That is all we want for her...just to keep trying and never give up even when things get hard.

School Year

I can't believe its almost the end of the school year...Laura has come SO far since Christmas. She is reading up a storm and even "shushes” us when we try to help her with words. She will move on to first grade, but will be in a program called Reach next year to continue extra one on one help. We couldn't be happier with this choice and feel like she will exceed well in this environment. She is getting ready for a cheerleading competition in Destin and seems to love every bit of it. They have been practicing up to three times a week and between that, church and school, we are all exhausted!!! Again, I don't know how my friends with more than one handles all the coming/going. Gary took her fishing the other day and she enjoyed holding the rod and watching Elliot run around. Also, with Easter just around the corner, we have had lots of fun shopping for dresses. She will have the opportunity to visit with her birth mom and brothers. She is SO excited to see her brothers and can't wait to hide eggs with them. We are getting ready for the summer which is full of various camps, swimming and lots of family time. Words cannot express how blessed we are!!!

Christmas

I can't believe its been two months since my last post...time is flying by!!! We had an incredible Christmas with Laura. She was completely overwhelmed by all her gifts!!! It was so much fun to watch her open and express such joy. I think her favorite toys were her DS Game and her numerous barbies with accessories!!! She has gone from a size 4-5 to a 6-7 very quickly. She LOVES to snack and eat sweets. Her favorites are string cheese, frozen yogurt and fruit. Also, every time we go out to eat, she ask for Mexican and can finish a bowl of cheese dip by herself. Gary always picks her up after cheernastics practice and has started a routine of taking her to Tropical Smoothie. She reminds me every Tuesday that HE is to pick her up. Another funny story is that I was in comfy clothes the other day to drop her off at practice and she said, "Mom, you can just drop me off at the door, you don't have to walk me in", ha. I just laughed and agreed. She is a very funny child, but is extremely sensitive if she thinks you are laughing at her. Elliot our dog has replaced his comfy dog pillow by our bed for a piece of carpet in her room...he follows her everywhere!!! I look back and can't believe how far she has come. All is well in the Rikard household and we are ready for spring-summer to hurry for some outside play and swim time :-)

Fall Update

What a crazy couple of months it has been!!! I am slowly but surely trying to figure out this parenting thing....all I can say is its a lot different than babysitting!!! Laura seems to be really adjusting well to life with us and LOVES school. She has exceeded our expectations with reading and absolutely loves her teacher. We couldn't be more pleased with this school!!! She had the opportunity to see her birth mom and brothers this past weekend and it all went smoothly. She came home with a big smile on her face-no tears!!! A friend suggested praying with her on the way to school every morning, so we pick a place and say a quick hello to God and ask him to please let her be nice to her friends and get a sticker....its really cute!!! The fun part is that she picks the place as we are driving....I forgot the other morning and she quickly yelled out, "WAIT, you forgot to pray with me".....I teared up!!! She is such a blessing and I am learning that NO matter what, even if I mess up, she is way better off with us than where she was. She told us a story last night that she once had to ride in a police car because her mom's boyfriend was driving bad and got pulled over....she said he didn't have his license and had to go to jail-she said the policeman was nice to her and her brothers and took them home. It really made me realize how much she has seen and been through-I already knew it, but its different when you hear it from a child. I know in my heart, she was meant to be with us!!!

3 Months...WOW!!!

Well, tomorrow is the BIG day....we head to court at 9am to finalize the adoption!!! Super excited for this day and it seems like it took way too long for it to get here. We have had a busy couple of weeks-she attended her first Ole Miss game, started Cheernastics, went to the Delta Fair, had a cookie decorating party with kids in the neighborhood and her Uncle Tommy took her for a horse riding lesson. She is one spoiled little child!!! We had our first parent-teacher conference last week where we learned that she needs extra reading tutoring. She starts this week with two days after school....on a positive note though, she did have the most bible verses memorized in the class :-) Another big event in Laura's life is that she lost her first tooth on Saturday. She was SO excited and came running down the stairs the next morning to show off her coin purse full of quarters and smiley face stickers that the tooth fairy left. We all seem to be in a good routine and count our blessings every day!!! Love you all!!

Week 8-9...I think...I lost count.

Well, school is in full swing now...she LOVES it. YAY!!! We have come a long way the last couple of weeks. I love the fact that we have a routine now, but she still ask every day after school "whats next", "can someone come over and play"...LOL. We met with her court appointed guardian yesterday and she is going to make a full recommendation to the judge for adoption. Our court date is Sept 20th...I am SO ready for it to get here and all be done. We are headed to Jackson this weekend for her first b'day party with my family followed up with a second b'day party with Gary's family the next weekend....can we say spoiled??? She has a pretty big birthday list, but she really wants a slushy machine she saw on tv....its all she can talk about. We are also going to get her a bike...I can't wait to see her face :-) Parenthood is SO fun, but the most tiring job I have ever had!!! Wouldn't trade it for anything!!!

Week 6

We have had a GREAT couple of weeks!!! Gary and I got to share our story/testimony in Sunday School yesterday :-)  Our class threw her a huge swim party last Sunday and Laura was overwhelmed with gifts and hair bows. She was SO excited!!! We have been getting ready for school and she can now spell her last name and has memorized her phone number. We have been reading a lot at night-someone gave us an adoption book and it is a great story how a Momma Bear took in a Baby Panda. It is a sweet story and she seems to understand the relation. We also have been playing Candy Land and Memory Cards a couple of nights a week and she FAIRLY beats us at the Memory game. I am learning to be a gracious loser to a 6 yr old!!! Her favorite game has to be Mario though on her DSI...its hilarious to watch her play. She gets as frustrated as I do when I play it...LOL. She sings A LOT even though she may not know the words on the radio, she makes up her own. We have had several play dates and have learned how to skate. It blows my mind how well she seems to be adjusting and how more patient I am than I thought!!! My favorite part of the last couple of weeks is hearing her call Gary "Pop"....God is good!!!